Netagio, the UK-based Bitcoin, gold & sterling exchange, today announced that the firm attained assurance over the storage of the Bitcoins it holds. The independent review of Netagio’s Bitcoin storage environment was conducted by professional services firm BDO LLP, who completed the review under ISAE 3000, the International Standard on Assurance Engagements. This is the first review of this kind in the Bitcoin industry.
The ISAE 3000 is an internationally recognised standard developed by the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB), to ensure the quality of assurance work, including report verification as well as assurance on corporate governance, internal compliance, and other areas central to corporate responsibility
In line with ISAE 3000 the review obtained an understanding of the Bitcoin storage environment, including the evaluation and testing of the design of the relevant control procedures supporting the relevant Control Objectives, identified by the Directors, in order to confirm the control procedures were in operation as at 26 May 2014.
The BDO LLP review found that, in their opinion, Netagio had adequate controls in place to achieve the Control Objectives, identified by the Directors, relating to storage of Bitcoins.
In addition, Netagio’s Bitcoin, gold and sterling exchange has been designed by the directors to meet the highest compliance requirements and standards of other registered financial exchanges. Netagio adheres to the European Payment Services Directive, with stringent anti-money laundering (AML) rules, diligent customer on-boarding ‘Know Your Customer’ (KYC) checks and continuous exchange and trade monitoring surveillance.
Netagio’s CEO, Simon Hamblin said, “We are delighted to have our Bitcoin storage environment be positively assessed in line with the ISAE 3000 standard. This latest recognition reinforces our commitment to growing our secure, peer-to-peer exchange platform on which to trade Bitcoin, gold and sterling, and is a stepping stone towards maturity in the community of companies operating in the Bitcoin space. As the Bitcoin economy is gathering pace, with various jurisdictions considering regulatory frameworks, any steps we can take to achieve internationally recognized standards and assurances will give further credibility to Bitcoin’s place in financial and retail industries.”
George Quigley, Partner at BDO, comments, “As a Bitcoin exchange, it’s important for Netagio to be able to assure customers that the relevant controls are in place for the Bitcoin storage environment. It is good to see Netagio leading the way for the industry by commissioning an external assurance review.”